Helmets. Dont you think so! From Paraglidin Forum

[RonDon]

The snell page you really want to look at is http://www.smf.org/stds.html
Check out the M2000 and M2005 standards, and the bicycle standards. It doesn't mean much until you compare them to the EN9660(?..I think I remember that right) standard. What kind of helmet you wear is up to you but you can't act surprised if an aerodynamic salad bowl doesn't give you the protection you need.

There are various arguments for and against motocross helmets. Personally I think a motocross helmet is going to do alot more for you, despite the relatively small increase in weight. I figure that if you hit the ground hard enough to injure your neck, you probably hit the ground hard enough to justify a motocross helmet.

Sure, you can't feel the air on your face as well but you learn to use other senses. I've noticed a number of comp pilots switching to motocross helmets lately and if the helmet was really hampering their performance that much they wouldn't bother. Not much if any worse than the current crop of PG helmets. There's always a tradeoff when it comes to safety though. If you can feel the air, you'll also be able to feel the ground...;P

I'm flying a Charley now but realize it's a crap lid. As soon as I can spring for a new one I'll replace it with a Shoei VFX-R. Motocross helmets are pretty cheap and you can usually get a good one for alot less than a PG helmet. The more you spend, the lighter the weight. The Shoei seems to be a good balance between weight and price. I also looked into the O'Neal helmets. They seem quite nice as well